Flawed
by valix33
Summary: AU, the Hudsons and Hummels have never met before. Burt Hummel always kept to himself before, no one knew much about him. But 15 year old Finn Hudson is in need of someone who cares about him, and when he crashes his mom's car he finds a savior in Burt. These two flawed humans learn that you don't have to be perfect to deserve saving. Because the world needs more Burt and Finn.
1. Chapter 1

Burt Hummel was a man who had grown used to his routine. Every morning he'd make himself a plate of eggs, sunny side up, and sit alone on his couch watching the news until it was time for him to go to work. Running the local tire shop kept him busy, but it was work he enjoyed. When he wasn't busy he'd be outdoors or at his favorite bar downtown. Bushwick's Bar and Grill always had a spot ready for him when he came in. Sure he had his fair share of hobbies, but to most people he kept his private life to himself. Nobody really knew much about him, just that he didn't have a family at home and so he spent a lot of time out and about socializing with the other residents of Lima. Still, if you asked anyone around town they'd all say he would greet them with a grin and treat them with respect, even offering assistance when he'd see a person in need. Burt Hummel seemed like a perfectly nice man.

It was a Tuesday and Burt was on his way into work, one cup of coffee in his cupholder and no doubt another waiting for him in his office at the tire shop. Winter was working its way through Lima and the increasing amounts of snowfall were still making a thin sheet on the ground. The snow plows did their best to clear the roads but it was the ice that they had to worry about. This, combined with the typical morning rush hour traffic, had caused Burt to run behind schedule as every other driver had apparently decided to move as slow as possible for fear of sliding on the ice.

"Come on, move your ass," he muttered under his breath. Just his luck, he happened to hit traffic right as he was driving on the freeway. The more his routine was disrupted, the more frustrated Burt became. No doubt he'd have to call his assistant manager to open the store in his absence. It had only happened to him twice before, and all his employees knew when it happened that he'd be arriving in a less than stellar mood.

As he was attempting to control his road rage, he caught sight of something strange up ahead. There was a car completely still at the end of the traffic jam, not budging no matter how many horns were blaring behind it. Burt's anger became more directed, no doubt whatever was keeping the driver from moving out of the way was what would make a lot of people late today. He briefly thought about adding his own horn to the mix of noise assailing the parked car, but he decided against it.

His thoughts of anger were interrupted when the car suddenly moved. Only it didn't move forward as it was supposed to, instead it jolted to the right. As Burt and the other drivers could only watch, the car crashed through the guardrail and careened off of the freeway. Adjacent to it, a steep and slippery hill leading to the old trees down below. There'd been many unfortunate drivers that had hurt themselves or worse tumbling down that hill, most of them intoxicated, but Burt had never seen it happen in front of him before.

Immediately without regards to what was going on around him, he unbuckled his seatbelt and exited his car, running over to where the guardrail had been destroyed. Other people had gotten out as well, a small crowd forming on the side of the road looking down to the bottom of the hill. As soon as he followed their gaze he too saw that the car had been completely totaled on its tumble and come to a rest against a particularly large and no doubt immovable tree. There was a minute where everyone stood silently with bated breath, hoping that someone would climb out of the car currently lying with its passenger door pressed against the ground. Yet no one did, and Burt was the first one to snap out of his trance.

"Somebody call 911!" he shouted at the others, lifting his right foot over the guardrail. As he was climbing over, he felt an arm grab him.

"Whoa pal, you can't go down there," warned the stranger. Burt shook him off and put both feet at the top of the hill, calculating his own way down with hopefully much less damage in doing so. Sure it wasn't the smartest plan, but he knew that someone had to try and help the occupant while they waited for the first responders to show up.

His right foot felt out the ground in front of him as he went, looking for rocks he could trip over or a particular drop in elevation. When he could he would hook his arm around a tree trunk and slide himself further. He could feel his heart beating faster on instinct alone but he kept his mind calm. As he neared the car he saw more clearly what he couldn't before, the vehicle was definitely smoking a little. He wasn't sure if it was at risk of exploding or not and he wasn't keen on finding out. Finally he planted his feet at the base of the hill and looked through the broken window into the vehicle.

To his surprise, the sole occupant was a teenage boy. His hair was brown and his face had a naïve innocence about it despite his athletic build. It was somewhat difficult to judge the extent of his injuries as he was currently lying with his back on the passenger window and his legs awkwardly sticking upward.

"Hey, don't panic, okay?" Burt told the kid gently. "I'm here to help get you out." The boy nodded, clearly hyperventilating. "You feel anything broken, anything pinned?"

"My side hurts and I think one of my legs is broken," the boy responded. Burt knew he had to talk him through this if he was going to help him.

"It's okay, just stay with me, kid. Everything's going to be okay but I need you to keep it together. I'm Burt. What's your name?"

"Finn."

"Alright, Finn, don't move. I'm coming in." Burt lifted himself onto the side of the car and in through the window, standing on the headrest to keep himself steady. "Give me your hand." Finn shakily extended his hand and Burt leaned down to grab it. Slowly he pulled the teen up into a more manageable sitting position as he himself climbed back out of the car. "Let me look you over real quick, okay?" Thankfully Finn hadn't been trapped in the car and he didn't have any pieces of the car protruding from his body. There were some pieces of glass on his face but none too big and none near his eyes and throat. "You don't look too bad. You alright?"

"Y-yeah, I t-t-think so."

"Good, you're doing great buddy. Now hook your arm around me and I'll pull you out." Finn complied and Burt carefully dragged him out of the vehicle. The teen cried out in pain when his leg moved, but Burt was able to get both of them onto the snow and away from the smoking car. He gave Finn a gentle pat on the head and held the shaking boy. "I got you, everything's going to be okay." As he watched a small flame emerged from the engine and he moved Finn further up the hill. In the distance he heard sirens.

When the paramedics arrived, it took a lot for Burt to convince them he'd accompany Finn to the hospital, at least until his parents arrived for him. They were able to get him back onto the road and into the ambulance, with everyone watching in amazement. Of course Burt knew he'd definitely have to call the assistant manager now, but he didn't mind. The kid was still shaken up and he needed some company. What he didn't realize was that he'd be seeing a lot more of Finn.

 **This is my new Glee fanfiction because I love seeing interactions between Finn and Burt. I wanted to change the world a bit but still expect to see some other characters pop up. Kurt does exist in this fanfiction but not in the way you'd expect. Hope you like it, let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Took me a little bit to finish this second chapter but hopefully you guys like it. I don't own anything related to Glee.**

There was a lot of noise in the emergency room. Burt listened to the rapid footsteps back and forth, the squeaky wheels of gurneys being pushed around, the beeping heart monitors, and the occasional groans from particularly disgruntled patients. Part of him felt uncomfortable listening to the noises, like they were a little too familiar, but he pushed the thought out of his head. He was here for Finn. Given the relative severity of his injuries they had gotten him evaluated quickly enough, and Burt's diagnosis had turned out to be fairly spot on. A broken right leg and some fractured ribs, he wouldn't be doing anything physical for a while but he'd been lucky all things considered. The doctors had given him some pain medication and he was dozing in his hospital bed, his features softened in unconsciousness. Several times Burt had needed to explain he wasn't related to Finn, but just waiting until his parents arrived to take care of him. Normally someone would've kicked him out by now, but since it had been a couple of hours and still neither parent had shown up they were leaving him be.

After a couple of hours, he noticed Finn's eyes began to flutter open. At first the teen looked a little frightened, but as he remembered what happened he relaxed just slightly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

"Better," answered Finn, "still really sore, though."

"I bet. You don't mind me sitting in here with you, do you?" Finn shook his head. "They said they called your parents, so I guess we're just waiting for them."

The teen looked off to the side and said, "It's just my mom." Burt decided it was best not to pry, but there was one question that he couldn't keep from asking.

"What happened today?"

"What do you mean?" Burt couldn't help but notice Finn was actively avoiding his gaze.

"Your car was at a complete stop, and then it just randomly jumped forward. What happened?"

"It's an old car," Finn explained quietly. "Sometimes when it's cold the engine would turn off and I would just turn the key a few times until it started again. I wasn't thinking, so my foot was on the gas petal and then it just turned back on. I panicked and turned the wheel without meaning to." Something seemed to click in his head and he began to hyperventilate. "My mom's going to be so mad at me, she told me to be careful and I went and crashed the car. I'm so stupid." He started to hit the side of his head, but Burt grabbed his arm firmly and put another hand on his shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down," he told the teen in a forceful tone. "It's just an accident, everything's going to be okay."

"No, it's not. I'm going to be in so much trouble."

"Listen to me, take a deep breath and relax. Alright, you're not going to make anything better by freaking out on me. Just keep talking to me, okay?" Finn nodded slowly and Burt let go of his arm. "First of all, how old are you? They checked your wallet and they couldn't find your driver's license."

"I'm 15," Finn mumbled. "Mom started teaching me how to drive so I could get to school and she said it wouldn't matter if I wasn't 16 if I didn't do anything stupid."

"So you go to school? Where?"

"McKinley High."

"I went there when I was a kid," Burt confessed. "I played football. What about you, any sports?"

"I used to." Another glance to the side, another subject he didn't want to elaborate on.

"Finn Hudson!" The stern voice came from the hallway and then a woman who was short in stature entered the hospital room. Burt could immediately see the look of anxiety that took over Finn's face. The woman continued to scold him, "I get a call at work that you almost died and the car blew up, I had to get someone to cover the rest of my shift and explain to all of the other waitresses what happened just so I could come here. You're supposed to be careful, Finn, not destroy the car I bought for you. Do you think I have the money to get you another one, we're already behind on the rent. How could you do this with the hearing coming up so soon-"

"Miss Hudson?" Burt interjected, extending his hand. The woman was distracted and the anger dissipated from her expression.

"Carole," she responded, shaking his hand.

"Hi Carole, my name's Burt. Let me explain. I was on the freeway behind your son, and I could tell that the city hadn't salted the roads in a few days, it was pretty dangerous as it is. Finn's car slid on the ice and he just happened to be next to the guardrail, he's pretty lucky to be alive right now."

"You're the one that pulled him out, right?"

"Yes ma'am, I am."

"Thank you Burt, I can't tell you how grateful I am that you saved my son. Finn, did you thank Burt for what he did?"

"Thank you," Finn whispered.

"Don't mention it," Burt replied with a smile. "You've got a sweet kid, I was glad to make his acquaintance despite the circumstances."

"He's always been sort of accident prone," Carole said. "So I have to make trips like this a lot, just normally not about an exploded car." A doctor appeared at the door and knocked as he tried to assess the room.

"Are you the parents?" Burt shook his head, suddenly feeling like an intruder.

"Uh, no, just her," he explained. "I'll get out of the way. Nice to meet you, Carole."

"You as well, Burt."

"Pleasure to meet you, Finn, feel better buddy. See you around." Finn waved and smiled at Burt, which Burt returned as he squeezed past the adults and out of the room. There was an uncomfortable feeling in his gut, something that didn't sit right about everything. And he knew part of it was because of that mother.

 _You're being paranoid,_ he thought to himself. _It wouldn't be the first time._ But there was a part of him that felt concerned for the teen, and he made up his mind to see Finn at least one more time, just to ensure that he was okay. Just to give himself peace of mind this time.

 **For the record, I love Carole in the show and I hated writing her as a less than great mother for this but I kind of had to for this story. Don't expect a lot of answers about Finn or Burt's pasts anytime soon, but eventually everything will make sense I promise I know exactly where their story is heading. Let me know what you thought and if you want me to keep writing this, so far it's been fun.**


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